More than 29 million U.S. adults have asthma, CDC report finds

ATLANTA — Asthma is having a growing effect on the country's health, according to a new study.



The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released its "Asthma's Impact on the Nation" report Wednesday, based on data gathered using the "Asthma Call-back Survey" of people with the disease. An estimated 29.1 million American adults, or 12.7% of the total, have been diagnosed with asthma in their lifetimes, while 18.7 million, or 8.2%, still had asthma in 2010.



"The information in this release is a stark reminder that asthma continues to be a major public health concern with a large financial impact on families, the nation and our healthcare system," CDC National Center for Environmental Health and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry director Christopher Portier said. "A key component for adults and children is to create and follow an asthma action plan. Significantly, this analysis reveals that more than half of all children and more than two-thirds of all adults with asthma do not have an individualized action plan. CDC encourages those with asthma to work with their doctors to take control of this disease."



Also, according to the report, 10.1 million children, or 13.6% of the total, had been diagnosed with asthma in their lifetimes, and 7 million, or 9.4%, still had it; asthma attacks among children ages 5 to 17 years resulted in 10.5 million missed days of school in 2008. The proportion of people with the disease increased by 14.8% between 2001 and 2010.

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